Lessons of Brittany Pierce
by magicalteacakes
Summary: Santana's grown up believing she couldn't stand up for herself. That is, until she meets Brittany S. Pierce, expelled from her previous school and willing to help Santana defeat her bullies. But what will happen when Santana stops feeling altogether?
1. Bullying

The bullying began at a very, very young age.

I never knew why it was they picked on me. It was just a group of eleven-year-old boys. What was I so afraid of, anyway?

When I look back on it, it wasn't as bad as I had made out. Now, if those things were said to me, I would laugh in the face of that person and probably give them a smack for good measure. But kids will be kids – and I was very sensitive.

But I had never learned to stand up for myself. My parents didn't have time to listen to the stories of what happened every single day at school – the name-calling, the pushing and shoving, chasing all other students away to make sure I never made a friend. So, in the end, I just learned to take it.

_Don't fight back, Santana, _I would tell myself every time they made snide comments. _Don't fight them._

So I didn't. It was easy.

It took me a long time to realise that this was the exact reason why they chose me to bully. Because I was the only one who would take it.

And I did, until the age of twelve. That's when everything began to change – for better or for worse, I still can't be sure.

That year was the year that _she _joined the school.

It had started a pretty normal day, actually. I went to school, kept my head down. Refused to meet other's eyes. I kept to myself – it was the only chance I had of survival.

Class began slightly later than normal, due to the teacher arriving late, accompanied by the Head and... Someone else.

_A new kid._

Immediately, muttering broke out among the students. The group of boys who sat as close to me as possible, so as to comment on what I was wearing or such things, put their heads together and began discussing, evil grins on their faces.

I spoke to no-one. I was looking straight at the new girl, and she was looking inquisitively around the room at each student.

When our eyes met, her gaze seemed to scorch me, and I looked down for a moment.

Once I thought her eyes must've moved on, I peeked up at her, and got a shock.

She was still staring at me. _Me. _No-one else.

There was a slightly puzzled, lost look on her face, and I frowned.

"Morning, class," said the teacher, and the magic of the gaze broke, just like that. I looked up at Miss McLeod instead. "I would like to introduce our new student here."

She gestured at the girl, who smiled wistfully at her.

"Brittany Pierce."

I felt her eyes move back onto me, and kept my eyes down, afraid to look up. Though still not a hundred percent sure why.

The boys were laughing now, and I refrained from giving them death glares. That wouldn't end well, after all.

"Brittany, why don't you go sit over there, in front of Santana."

She pointed at me and I started slightly.

One of the boys, Jake, sniggered.

"Yeah, come make friends with Santa here."

The girl, Brittany, frowned at me as she walked closer.

"She isn't Santa. Santa's a boy."

Jake raised his eyebrows, grinning at his mates one by one, then turning back to her.

"Fine, how about Satan?"

"No, her name is Santana."

Brittany was giving the boy a look which clearly said, _I already despise the very air you breathe_.

He rolled his eyes and looked down, obviously unable to think of another comeback.

Brittany sat in front of me, without giving me another glance. I stared at the back of her head for what felt like an age. This girl who I didn't even know, had just _stood up for me_. No-one had ever done that before.

At the end of class, she left quickly, and although I wanted to thank her, I hadn't got a chance to.

The days continued the same as normal after that though. At least, for a couple of weeks. Brittany didn't stand up for me again, possibly realising that it would only decrease her popularity. Though, when I thought about it, she didn't really seem to care anyway. Her bad marks and 'dumb blonde' comments were getting her a fairly bad reputation amongst the class, though any guy who dared say anything would likely get kicked in the nuts at break-time.

We started working together sometimes, on projects and things. But we never talked much. She seemed shy, too, so we went well together, even from the beginning. The only difference was that she wasn't afraid of anything.

Sometimes when we were sitting next to each other, which was only when we worked together, I would casually glance over at her and find her looking at me. In these situations we both usually ended up quite red in the face, though I can't deny that I found myself trying to catch her eye more often as time went on.

I soon realised that there wasn't anything I wanted more than to be friends with Brittany Pierce.

But I still wasn't brave enough to speak to her, so instead I spent my days staring at the back of her head, admiring the way her hair fell in smooth waves down her back, and the way she would rub her neck when she was thinking hard, or drink her water in one go without taking a breath.

I would never have admitted it to myself then, but I was slowly but surely becoming obsessed with her. It seemed perfectly normal at the time.

Which is why I was so shocked that day. The day when I walked out of my classroom to find Brittany waiting outside. _Waiting for me._

"B-Brittany," I said, nodding at her, and trying to sound calm. "Forget something?"

"No," she said wistfully, smiling slightly. "I was waiting for you."

"Oh." I said, feeling heat rushing to my cheeks. "Oh."

"I just thought we could maybe hang out sometime!"

She said it in such a rush that I barely heard the proposition.

"Um...say that again?"

"I just thought... We could hang out, like, after school or something?" She was smiling broadly at me, her cheeks a little pink.

It was like all the air had been knocked out of me.

"Um... Okay."

"Cool!" She gushed happily, "Because I thought we could go to the park and play on the swings and you'd teach me how to do it on my own because I can't do it yet, and then..."

She trailed off, seemingly embarrassed by her sudden outburst.

"Sounds like fun," I murmured shyly.

And that's how I found myself walking to the park with Brittany.

**A/N: I always found that in most Brittana fanfictions, Brittany was the one getting bullied. So I thought it would be interesting to explore how Santana became so judgemental and confident, and more of her background. I'm hoping this fanfiction will have about 22 chapters, based on the different lessons Brittany teaches Santana, and how things turn around. Please review. Thank you.**


	2. Lesson 1, Say Something

We stayed in that park for the rest of the day, until it was way later than 12-year-olds should ever be allowed out.

It was awkward at first but I soon realised that once Brittany got talking, she never wanted to stop.

So all I had to do was say "hmmm" and "yeah" every once in a while, and spend the rest of my time listening to how perfect her voice was, and the way it rose when she was excited. Which was most of the time.

When we reached the park, she ran straight to the swings and climbed up, or tried to. She was so petite that she slipped right over and fell off the other side. I ran to her side immediately, helping her to her feet.

"Can you... Can you help me up, San?"

_San._

I couldn't help but grin as I led her round the the front of the swing again.

I placed my hands tentatively on her perfect, tiny waist, and refrained from looking up at her, in case I did something I shouldn't.

Then I lifted her up and onto the swing, making sure she was balanced completely perfectly before letting go of her. Or maybe I was just wasting time so I could hold on a little longer.

"Can you push me now?"

"Sure Brittany."

I went behind her and grabbed her waist again, pulling her back as far as I could.

It ended up that my chest was pressing into her back and my head on her shoulder before I felt the need to let go. When I did, she let out a squeal of excitement, and started yelling "faster, San!" every time I pushed her.

I couldn't help but smirk every time she said that, even though I should have been far too young to understand the innuendo. But I had learned some things from my brother, after all.

After Brittany had gone so high that she almost fell off several times, she seemed to have had enough.

We ended up sitting on the grass, playing pretend tea parties. She had brought a tiny toy duck with her, and she let it drink from her pretend glass of pretend tea. This left me smiling uncontrollably.

"What's so funny, San?" Brittany asked, pouting. This was so cute that I burst out laughing, and she gave me a sour look.

"I'm sorry," I said, grinning. "You are very cute."

She smiled goofily and jumped on me, squeezing me in an unnecessarily tight hug.

"You're my new best friend, San."

I was shocked by how quickly the decision had been made, but not at all displeased.

"You're my best friend too, Brittany." The word _new _seemed inappropriate, as I'd never had any friends before now.

"Why are those boys so horrible to you?"

She moved away from me a little so she could look into my eyes. Her's were far too close, yet not close enough.

I looked down.

"I don't know," I said sadly. "I suppose I must do something wrong though."

My voice cracked and Brittany looked pitiful.

"They just can't see you like I can."

I smiled and held back the tears. I _never _cried. _Ever._

"You should stand up for yourself, San."

"What... What do you mean?" I frowned.

"Well, you don't say anything when they pick on you. I would say something. I want to stand up for you but I think you should do it on your own."

"Yeah," I said, "but it will make everything worse if I am mean to them."

"Not if they're mean to you first! They deserve it! Santa will still bring you presents, trust me!"

She looked so sincere that I decided not to tell her that Santa wasn't real. She was just so sweet.

"Okay," I agreed. "I will try that. Thanks Brittany."

"You should call me Britt!... Or Britt-Britt!"

I raise my eyebrows a little.

"Um... Why?"

"They can be our secret names for each other! Like, names that no-one else can use. Just us. That way, it means we will be the bestest of friends forever!"

I smile.

"Okay then, Britt-Britt."

She grins at me, and moves a strand of hair which was caught in my mouth.

The feeling of her fingers on my skin make me close my eyes briefly, and sensing that I liked it, she did it again.

And again.

'Britt, we should get back,' I said, smiling a little sadly. 'My mom will be really worried.'

'Oh, okay,' she said, looking disappointed. She moved her hand away from my face and stood up, reaching out a hand to pull me up. I took it shyly, and realised that she was surprisingly strong for such a young girl.

'You're really strong, Britt-Britt,' I said, smiling. 'You must do tons of press-ups and stuff.'

'I do dancing,' she explained. 'And I suppose beating up all those boys at my old school helped too.'

I raised my eyebrows. 'Why'd you beat them up?'

She shrugged. 'I dunno, they were annoying me.'

I laughed at how carelessly she said this, watching her out of the corner of my eye as we walked out of the park and down the street.

'Where's your house?' She asked, and I pointed down the street.

'That one,' I said. 'It's not very far.'

'Oooh, it's really nice,' said Brittany, smiling. 'My house is ages away from here.'

'Will you be okay, walking there on your own?'

'Yeah,' she said, shrugging. 'I'm used to it.'

We reached my house too soon, and I smiled at her. 'Well, this is me.'

'I know this is you,' said Britt, looking confused. 'Who else could you be?'

I laughed. 'No, I meant this is my house.'

'Oh,' she said, realisation dawning. 'I see.'

'Well, um,' I said, stalling for time a little. 'Bye, Britt.'

'Bye, San-San!'

She pulled me into a tight hug and I could smell her peach-flavoured shampoo. I tried not to be engulfed in it as she hugged me, but it smelled really good..

'Uh, okay,' I said, pulling away. 'Can we... do this tomorrow, too?'

'What, hug?'

'No,' I said, grinning. 'Go to the park.'

'Oh, sure thing,' she said, smiling at me. 'I'll see you tomorrow San-San.'

'Bye, Britt-Britt.'

She smiled and waved all the way down the street. I watched her until she was out of sight before opening my door and reaching my angry mom.

But as she fussed over me, scolded me, yelled, I barely heard her. Because all I could think of was the way Brittany Pierce had brushed the hair out of my eyes, and the smell of her radiant blonde hair.

Maybe the reason I'd become so attached to her in such a small amount of time was the thought that _someone, _at long last, _cared._

**A/N: Thank you to all who have reviewed/favorited so far, it means so much to me! Keep it up, kids. Much love. (Also, I'm going to point out now that this fanfiction could be thought of, in a way, as a prequel to Piedras, another one of my Brittana stories. But it's in no way important to read one before the other, or both at all. I'm just sayin', y'all.)**


	3. Lesson 2, Don't Care What They Think

I spent most days after that in the park with Brittany. Our friendship had blossomed so quickly that we were soon inseparable. We began walking into classes together, sometimes linking arms. Brittany's presence as my best friend had benefits apart from the fact I would do anything for her, though. Most people were afraid of her, as she was stronger than most girls _and guys. _So at least when she was around, the bullying stopped.

And when she wasn't, I was learning to stand up for myself. My confidence was growing, and I started talking back to Jake and his friends.

I started talking back to teachers too.

It wasn't long before everyone in our grade was a little terrified of Santana Lopez and her best friend/sidekick Brittany Pierce. Britt showed me where you were supposed to kick boys when they annoyed you, and it became one of my favourite pastimes, apart from our pretend tea parties in the park.

Yes, they were definitely my favourite.

On one of these days when we were sipping our pretend tea and putting on posh accents, Brittany came up with a new idea, as she always did.

"We could have a secret handshake!"

"That would be cool, Britt," I encouraged. I found that the more praise she received for her ideas, the better the outcome would be, no matter how crazy.

We had made one up ten minutes later. It involved a lot of confusing hand movements that I was sure Britt would forget later, but I didn't voice my concerns. _I will never forget, and I can teach her again if she does._

"What's your favourite part, San?"

"I like the pinky-linking bit, it's cool. It's like holding hands but... different."

"Mine too!" She went suddenly red and said, "I'd quite like to hold your hand, San."

I blushed deeply, and reached out my hand, taking her's.

Our fingers linked and I squeezed softly. She giggled. It sounded wonderful, so I did it again.

"You're my favourite, San-San."

"You're my favourite, Britt-Britt."

We both laughed, for a long time. It felt so great to have someone to be close to.

It didn't take me long to figure out that moments without Brittany were moments wasted. Moments I was never getting back. So I went out of my way to keep her close, and keep us both safe.

* * *

><p>The first time I went to Brittany's, we were both soaked to the skin.<p>

Her mom walked into the kitchen, saw er, gasped, and walked forwards rather threateningly.

"Brittany Pierce. What have you been doing?"

She smiled broadly and said, "Water fight!"

Then Mrs Pierce noticed me, and gave a knowing smile.

"You must be Santana," she said, shaking my hand. "Wondering when we would meet."

She looked a lot like Britt when she smiled, I thought. It made me like her an awful lot more.

"I talk about you all the time, don't I Mom!"

Mrs Pierce rolled her eyes. "Not _that _much," she said sarcastically. "Only every second word that leaves your mouth is Santana."

My heart swelled proudly and I fought the urge to jump on Brittany. It was an urge I had learned to control, though it seemed to be getting harder every day.

After sitting outside for a while, we headed back in to make cakes. It was Britt's idea, of course, and she was so over excited that I couldn't turn down the offer.

Because whatever made Brittany happy would _have _to be achieved. Like our own secret mission.

So we ended up baking, or trying to bake anyways.

At first, Britt was doing well remembering all the ingredients, but as time went on, I could see her faltering a little bit.

I helped her as much as I could though, and soon the cakes were in the oven, and we were waiting for them to be ready with baited breath.

Brittany went to get a glass of water, reaching up as high as she could to try and reach the shelf, but not quite making it.

"San," she whined, "I can't reach!"

"Here," I said, walking closer.

Her arms were outstretched, her backed arched upwards so her top rode up a little at the back.

I couldnt help but walk up behind her and place my hands tentatively on her waist, like I had that day in the park, only behind her this time.

She jumped a little, then giggled.

"You going to lift me?"

"Uh-huh," was all I could manage as I smoother my fingers over her bare skin. "You ready?"

"You bet," she said, giggling again.

I tried to lift her, but she had grown a lot recently and I couldn't manage it. This made her laugh even more.

"Here, San-San, I'll lift you," she said, walking behind me, and I felt a tiny jolt in my stomach.

"Mkay," I murmured, bracing myself.

She placed her hands on my waist, but didn't lift me.

"Uh... Britt?"

"Sorry," she said softly. "You have a tiny waist. I was just looking..."

"That's okay," I encouraged. "I don't mind."

"Really?" She giggled, and moved her hand under my top to feel the skin there. I shivered. "It's really soft, like a baby's."

I grunted, unable to form a sentence when she was touching me like that.

Then she lifted me, so suddenly and unexpectedly that I cried out, and she hurriedly dropped me on the ground again.

"Sorry, San, I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you -"

"It's fine Britt, you didn't. Come on, we have to get this glass."

She lifted me softer this time, and I managed to reach the glass easily.

Bringing it down, I couldn't help but smile, suddenly feeling shy.

She poured herself some water, and then we left and went up to her room.

Neither of us noticed Mrs Pierce standing in the opposite doorway, smiling. Her daughter had found something far more than a friend, she was sure of it. Though maybe they hadn't realised yet.

* * *

><p>By the time we were ready to sleep, neither of us were thinking of much else. We had been so determined to have a midnight feast that we had fought our exhaustion long enough to eat a few sweets before hurriedly changing into our pyjamas.<p>

Or at least, _I _changed into my pyjamas.

Britt simply stripped off, and climbed into the bed beside me.

"Britt," I said, laughing, "What are you doing? Put on some clothes, woman."

"You sleep in clothes? That's weird. Don't they get dirty?"

I chuckled, turning over so I was facing her in the dark.

"They're pyjamas, Britt."

"Oh," she said, a little confused. "I always wondered why I had so many of them, and my mum would never let me wear them to school."

Rolling my eyes, I turned over, feeling a little awkward when she was stark naked.

"Take off your clothes too, silly," she said. "You told me what pyjamas are, so now I can tell you how nice it is to sleep in nothing."

_Good thing it's dark, _I thought, though my face was burning so much it might have been glowing and I wouldn't have been surprised.

"Um... Okay Britt, but like... girls aren't really meant to do this kind of thing..."

"We're best friends," she said indignantly. "No-one minds. And I don't mind if they mind. You gotta stop caring what other people think, it's way more fun."

"Well, okay," I said nervously. I pulled off my top and shorts, feeling very vulnerable.

I curled up in a ball next to my best friend, and drifted off easier than I ever thought I could have.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I know they've been a little short up until now, so I promise to give you an extra long chapter next. Please review/favorite, I love hearing your feedback.**


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